There is a downside to eating healthy. It is more expensive. There are a lot of reasons for the cost differential between organic and non-organic fruits and vegetables as more so from organic to processed/packaged foods. They range from the need for crop rotation, more labor, natural fertilizers, and organic certification costs.
All of these reasons carry merit, but I find the most disturbing is the indirect tax that is placed on organic food producers by having to go through inspections and certifications in order to carry the USDA organic label. A company bringing a new chemical formulation to the food supply does not have any such approval process. This penalizes healthy food producers and consumers. The FDA's certification process is so porous that a company can approve its own food additive by labeling it "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS, basing it off of its own private research.
This is where it gets dicey. The government is easily circumvented because a food producer is able to fund private research to support its new product claim. If the additive comes up safe in the company's own checks, it is automatically ready for use in the food supply. The FDA has no oversight. The company isn't even required to make the government aware of the product's approval. It is a voluntary system. It is not difficult to understand that companies can bring dangerous chemicals to market in very little time (and no research on long-term risks) with little cost. This self-approval process has flooded the grocery store aisles with loads of untested chemicals, ranging from artificial flavors, food coloring, and sugar substitutes.
On the other hand, in order for a farm or food manufacturer to use the government's USDA Organic label, it must pass inspection. The onus and cost is on the organic farmer to prove that his/her product is legitimately organic, which makes sense. My issue with the whole process is the dichotomy. Why are food additives and their chemistry labs not held to the same standard? Why are they allowed to approve their own chemicals? It's absurd. And we are all at risk because of it.
I've had a lot of people tell me the best thing to focus on is to close the loophole and create more oversight on the chemical companies. New laws could be helpful, but fighting the food lobby is not an easy task. Not only do they spend millions of dollars each year influencing politicians, they also have rotating door policies where employees go to work for the government and then come back. They are working together. The singular option we can control are our dollars and what we use them for.
The best option we have to rectify this situation is to eat healthier, which will give organic farms the ability to leverage their fixed costs and expand their operations. This will lower overall costs and reduce retail prices. If we purchase less refined and processed foods, the opposite will happen. Profitability will decline for these products. For most companies, this is the only message they will understand. The power is in our hands to force change. We just need to utilize it.
All of these reasons carry merit, but I find the most disturbing is the indirect tax that is placed on organic food producers by having to go through inspections and certifications in order to carry the USDA organic label. A company bringing a new chemical formulation to the food supply does not have any such approval process. This penalizes healthy food producers and consumers. The FDA's certification process is so porous that a company can approve its own food additive by labeling it "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS, basing it off of its own private research.
This is where it gets dicey. The government is easily circumvented because a food producer is able to fund private research to support its new product claim. If the additive comes up safe in the company's own checks, it is automatically ready for use in the food supply. The FDA has no oversight. The company isn't even required to make the government aware of the product's approval. It is a voluntary system. It is not difficult to understand that companies can bring dangerous chemicals to market in very little time (and no research on long-term risks) with little cost. This self-approval process has flooded the grocery store aisles with loads of untested chemicals, ranging from artificial flavors, food coloring, and sugar substitutes.
On the other hand, in order for a farm or food manufacturer to use the government's USDA Organic label, it must pass inspection. The onus and cost is on the organic farmer to prove that his/her product is legitimately organic, which makes sense. My issue with the whole process is the dichotomy. Why are food additives and their chemistry labs not held to the same standard? Why are they allowed to approve their own chemicals? It's absurd. And we are all at risk because of it.
I've had a lot of people tell me the best thing to focus on is to close the loophole and create more oversight on the chemical companies. New laws could be helpful, but fighting the food lobby is not an easy task. Not only do they spend millions of dollars each year influencing politicians, they also have rotating door policies where employees go to work for the government and then come back. They are working together. The singular option we can control are our dollars and what we use them for.
The best option we have to rectify this situation is to eat healthier, which will give organic farms the ability to leverage their fixed costs and expand their operations. This will lower overall costs and reduce retail prices. If we purchase less refined and processed foods, the opposite will happen. Profitability will decline for these products. For most companies, this is the only message they will understand. The power is in our hands to force change. We just need to utilize it.
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Please see more information at my website Dangers of food additives and preservatives or this article natural claims on food label
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